Wagah: 61 die in suicide attack in Pakistani side

, Nov 3: In a

in the Pakistani side of the

border, 61 people have been reported to be dead and over hundreds injured, minutes after the flag lowering ceremony on Sunday evening.

Initial reports, as provided by the inspector general of Pakistan's Punjab province, suggest that it was a suicide attack and that the attacker was a very young man. Inspector General of Punjab Police Mushtaq Sukhera revealed that the bomber was stopped at the gates of the parade ground where he detonated the bomb. Among the casualties are three Pakistani Ranger personnel, A family of eight is among the deceased. Five others have been injured.

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The blast took place at 6:12 pm outside the parade ground, just 500 meters from the Indian side. Most of the victims were on their way back home after the ceremony at sunset. Most of the victims were on their way back home after the ceremony at sunset. The injured were taken to three different hospitals-the Ghurki Hospital, the Services Hospital and the Shalimar Hospital. While the dead bodies were transferred to the Ghurki hospital.

Inside sources say that a terror alert was sounded 15 days ago and both the Pakistani and the Indian side had strengthened security at the Wagah. Pakistani Rangers said that the attack was initially mistaken to be a cylinder blast at the nearby local restaurant.

Following the incident, the longest ceremony at the Wagah-Attari border of Pakistan and India has been witheld for three days starting Monday at the behest of Pakistan. The ceremony had otherwise continued non-stop over years, despite ups and downs in the relationship of both the countries.

OneIndia News